Tel Aviv University

TAU's origins date back to 1956, when three research institutes: the Tel Aviv School of Law and Economics (established in 1935), the Institute of Natural Sciences (established in 1931), and the Academic Institute of Jewish Studies (established in 1954) – joined to form Tel Aviv University. Initially operated by the Tel Aviv municipality, the university was granted autonomy in 1963, and George S. Wise was its first president, from that year until 1971.^[8][9] The Ramat Aviv campus, covering an area of 170-acre (0.69 km²), on top of the depopulated and razed Palestinian village of Sheikh Munis, was established that same year. Its succeeding presidents have been Yuval Ne'eman from 1971 to 1977, Haim Ben-Shahar from 1977 to 1983, Moshe Many from 1983 to 1991, Yoram Dinstein from 1991 to 1999, Itamar Rabinovich from 1999 to 2006, Zvi Galil from 2006 to 2009, Joseph Klafter from 2009 to 2019, and Ariel Porat since 2019.^[9]

The university also maintains academic supervision over the Center for Technological Design in Holon, the New Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, and the Afeka College of Engineering in Tel Aviv. The Wise Observatory is located in Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev desert.

Faculties

• Katz Faculty of the Arts
• Fleischman Faculty of Engineering
• Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences
• Entin Faculty of Humanities
• Buchmann Faculty of Law
• Wise Faculty of Life Sciences
• Faculty of Medicine (formerly the Sackler Faculty of Medicine)
• Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences
• Boris Mints Institute
• Coller School of Management

Independent schools

• Berglas School of Economics
• Porter School of Environmental Studies
• Buchmann-Mehta School of Music
• David Azrieli School of Architecture
• Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine
• Miller School of Education
• Shapell School of Social Work
• TAU International (formerly the School for Overseas Students)
• Sagol School of Neuroscience

In addition to being Tel Aviv University's home for international researchers, visitors and partnerships, The Lowy International School (formerly TAU International) annually affords thousands of students from across the globe the opportunity to study at Tel Aviv University.^[11] The school is overseen by Milette Shamir, the university's vice president of international affairs.

The school's full name is The Lowy International School in Memory of Shirley Lowy; the name changed in 2022 following an $18-million gift from Australian-Israeli businessperson Sir Frank Lowy.^[12] Lady Shirley Lowy, Sir Frank's wife, died on December 9, 2020.^[13]

School programs are primarily conducted in English, though The Lowy International School also offers immersion options for studying in Hebrew.^[14] Programs include undergraduate, graduate, study abroad, research, gap year and short-term programs,^[15] and the school provides a variety of scholarships.^[16] Students in the B.A., M.A., exchange and study abroad programs are given the option of housing at the Einstein or Broshim dorms, just outside the university.^[17]

Undergraduate programs: ^[18]

• International B.A. in Liberal Arts and Humanities
• International B.A. in Management and Liberal Arts
• B.Mus. at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music
• Programme de Licence en Sciences Sociales, Politiques et Économiques
• Dual Degree B.A. Program in Liberal Arts: TAU & Columbia University
• Collaborative B.A. with Yeshiva University

Graduate programs: ^[19]

• M.A. in Ancient Israel Studies
• M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering
• M.A. in Conflict Resolution and Mediation
• M.A. in Cyber Politics & Government
• M.Sc. in Digital Health
• M.D.M in Disaster Management
• M.F.A. in Documentary Cinema
• M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering
• M.A. in Environmental Studies
• M.Sc. in Life Sciences
• M.Sc. in Medical Sciences
• M.Sc. in Neuroscience
• M.Sc. in Plant Sciences with Emphasis in Food Security
• M.A. in Security and Diplomacy
• M.A. in Social and Policy Aspects of Climate Change
• M.A. in Sustainable Development
• M.A. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Sofaer Global MBA
• M.Mus. at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music
• International LL.M. Program – Parasol Foundation
• Johns Hopkins University SAIS and TAU Collaborative Program
• Sciences Po Lille University and TAU Collaborative Program
• TAU-Thapar 3+2 Integrated Degree in Biotechnology or Electrical Engineering

Lowy Distinguished Guest Professors:^[20]

Created in 2023, the Lowy Distinguished Guest Professors program brings eminent academics to Tel Aviv University.^[21]

• Reinhard Genzel, Nobel laureate in physics
• Eitan Tadmor, mathematician
• Milette Gaifman, classicist
• Michael Waidner, computer scientist
• Rudolf Podgornik, physicist
• Susan B. Davidson, computer scientist
• Alberto Melloni, historian
• Olga Sorkine-Hornung, computer scientist

In 2024 QS World University Rankings ranked Tel Aviv University 214th in the world,^[22] making it the highest ranked university in Israel. In 2016, its subject rankings were: 202nd in Arts and Humanities, 295th in Engineering and Technology, 193rd in Life Sciences and Medicine, 208th in Natural Science, and 240th in Social Sciences and Management.

The Center for World University Rankings ranked Tel Aviv University 81st in the world and third in Israel in its 2016 CWUR World University Rankings.^[23] They have also ranked it as 56 in 2012.^[24]

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2019 placed Tel Aviv University at 189th in the world.^[25] The ratings reflect an overall measure of esteem that combines data on the institutions' reputation for research and teaching.^[26]

In 2016 QS World University Rankings ranked Tel Aviv University 22nd in the world for citations per faculty,^[27] which is the indicator that measures a university's research impact.^[28] This makes Tel Aviv University the leading university in Israel in terms of research.

In 2015 the Academic Ranking of World Universities gave Tel Aviv University the following subject rankings: 20th in Computer Science, 51–75 in Mathematics, 76–100 in Physics and 76–100 Economics/Business. In 2016 it was ranked as 51–75 in Engineering.^[29]

From the year 2007 until 2018, Tel Aviv university ranks as 35th in the world in Computer Science according to CSRankings, the same rank as Harvard and the second-highest ranked in Israel.^[30]

As of 2021, it is ranked as the 191st best university in the world by THE World University Rankings,^[31] 230th by the QS World University Rankings^[32] and in the 151–200th bracket by the Shanghai Rankings^[33]

In 2022, PitchBook Data ranked Tel Aviv University 7th in the world in terms of number of alumni who have founded venture capital backed companies, the highest out of any University outside the United States.

Currently, Tel Aviv University partners with more than 280 academic institutions spanning 46 countries.^[34] The university's academic partnerships are supported by The Lowy International School. Types of international partnerships include: joint research centers, research collaborations, joint CFPs for research seed funding,^[35] joint or dual degrees, jointly taught courses, joint summer/winter schools,^[36] joint post-doctoral fellowships, exchange programs, study abroad programs and visiting faculty opportunities.^[37]

The Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law has exchange agreements with 36 overseas universities,^[38] including: University of Virginia, Cornell University, Boston University, UCLA, Bucerius (Germany), EBS (Germany), McGill (Canada), Osgoode Hall (Canada), Ottawa (Canada),^[39] Queens University (Queens), Toronto (Canada), Bergen (Norway), STL (China), KoGuan (China), Tsinghua (China), Jindal Global (India), University of Hong Kong, Singapore Management University, Stockholm University (Sweden), Monash (Australia), Sydney (Australia), Sciences Po (France), Seoul (South Korea), Lucern (Switzerland), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bocconi (Italy)^[40] and Madrid (Spain).^[39]

The Coller School of Management has exchange agreements with over 100 overseas universities. The Coller Exchange Program is open to MBA/MSc/MA students and qualified professionals. The school offers a wide variety of courses for its visiting students in strategy, entrepreneurship, finance-accounting, marketing, organizational behavior, decisions and operations research, technology and information systems. The program also offers courses from other TAU schools on Israeli Culture, History, Economics and more.

In 2013, Tel Aviv University and Ruppin Academic Center jointly created a study center at the Mediterranean Sea, where students will undertake advanced studies of issues impacting the coastal environment and its resources.^[41]

• Tel Aviv (journal), peer-reviewed international journal of archaeology in the Levant and the history and culture of Near Eastern civilizations, with a focus on biblical and protohistoric periods and also dealing with the classical and prehistoric periods^[43]

• Beth Hatefutsoth
• List of universities in Israel
• Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival